In early May, women from the village of Maradisi, in southeast Georgia, gained wide renown. Naira Paksadze, together with other women, hoed their neighbour’s potato field in order to save the family’s potato harvest. At the time, every member of the family was being treated for COVID-19 in hospital, while weeds were growing wild throughout their potato field – their only source of income.

The world in lockdown has created a ‘profound shock to our societies and economies, and women are at the heart of care and response efforts underway[1]. Primarily as caregivers, women are not just sustaining families, but also serving as front-line responders, mainly in the health and service sector.

Simret Tesfaye is nurse at the Association for Women's Sanctuary and Development, a non-profit organization in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, which manages six shelters for survivors of gender-based violence. Currently, she is working at the Transitional Shelter that opened in April 2020 with support from UN Women.

To support the women farmers during this crisis, UN Women has re-oriented its project, which initially intended to establish a seed bank to guard against future disasters. The project will now temporarily pivot to connect farmers to new outlets and market opportunities.

Ninety-one women’s organizations from Iraq, Libya, Palestine, Syria and Yemen issued a joint statement to call for a ceasefire in the face of COVID-19, joining a global appeal issued by UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s at the outset of pandemic.

As lead coordinating entity of joint Executive Board activities this year, the UN Women Executive Board secretariat will convene this year’s Joint Meeting of the Executive Boards of UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS, UNICEF, UN Women and WFP, starting at 10 a.m. EDT, Friday 29 May 2020 on the topic: United Nations development system reform in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lieutenant Dr. Arya Khadka is a Nepali peacekeeper serving as a medical officer with the United Nations Mission (MINUSCA) in Bambari, Central African Republic, where prevention efforts are being implemented to deter the COVID-19 outbreak. In a recent Instagram interview with UN Peacekeeping leading up to the International Day of UN Peacekeepers, Lt. Dr. Khadka shared some of the challenges as well as what motivates her. This story has been written based on her interview.

“Women’s organizations on the front lines of the COVID-19 response continue to adapt and provide vital services for survivors, even in the face of unprecedented challenges. As violence against women rises, the services offered by women’s organizations must be included in governments’ COVID-19 response packages,” said Aldijana Sisic, Chief of the UN Trust Fund.

Esther Macharia, 37, is a single mother and the only breadwinner for herself and her daughter. When the COVID-19 crisis came to Kenya, she lost nearly her entire income as a rideshare driver in Nairobi, as people are no longer requesting rides. Her story reflects the hardship that millions of women now face, as workers with low wages and without safety nets.

UN Women has been working with other United Nations agencies, partners and the Government to raise public awareness about COVID-19. Initiatives by UN Women’s Sittwe office include providing information geared toward women, helping women get health and social protection services, and ensuring that virus control measures, such as quarantine centres, meet women’s needs and concerns

The COVID-19 pandemic is largely concentrated in cities and urban areas, with around 2,600 cities globally reporting at least one case of the disease. While the epicentre of the global health crisis is still Europe and North America, its impact on developing countries may be more devastating, especially for the poorest. The 1 billion+ people living in slums and slum-like settings in developing countries, where population density is high, are those most at-risk and least prepared.

Sylvia Karungi is a member of the National Association of Women with Disabilities in Uganda (NAWODU), an organization for women with disabilities that receives funding from UN Women under the EU spotlight programme. She is also a community Psychologist.

During these uncertain and difficult times, we turn to women leaders from around the world for inspiration. They have forged peace when ravaged by war; they have driven innovation despite all odds; and they persisted in the face of challenges and insisted on building a better future.

Emanuela Paul is the Rethinking Power Program Coordinator with Beyond Borders/Depase Fwontyè yo. The programme focuses on preventing violence against women and girls, including women and girls with disabilities, in Haiti and implements a project with funding from the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women. In light of COVID-19, she explains how her organization has adapted its approach to community mobilization and the dialogues they create in the community.

Meliha Sendic is President of the Center of Women's Rights, a grantee of the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women, that provides free legal assistance to women, primarily to women survivors of all forms of post-conflict violence against women in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). During an online Stakeholder Community Exchange on 16 April 2020 organized by the UN Trust Fund, she shared how her organization has adapted to COVID-19 measures.

Given that the COVID-19 crisis affects men and women in different ways, measures to resolve it must take gender into account. For women and girls, vulnerabilities in the home, on the front lines of health care, and in the labor market must be addressed.